Israeli fighter jets flew passes over the Golan Monday, Feb. 23 as a warning to Syrian helicopters and fighter planes to stop encroaching on the no-fly zone, in violation of standing Israeli-Syrian armistice agreements, debkafile reports. The Syrian warplanes planes dropped barrel bombs on Syrian rebel forces holding Quneitra. Spotters counted at least 30 bombs dropped by helicopters under cover of Syrian air force jets. Their crews took no notice of the Israeli fighter jets and drones present. However, a repeat performance is unlikely to be tolerated.

The IDF spokesman discloses that an officer and soldier were killed and 7 injured in coordinated Hizballah rocket and mortar attacks from Mt. Dov (Shabaa Farms) on an Israeli command patrol vehicle near the border Wednesday, Jan. 28. debkafile: The vehicle was not armored. The pro-Iranian Hizballah claimed the attack. Israel deployed artillery and aircraft to hit back at Hizballah and allied targets in South Lebanon. A major military clash ensued. debkafile: Israel is resolved to ward off any Iranian-Hizballah plans for a war of attrition.

The funerals of Eyal Yifrach, Gil-Ad Shaer and Naftali Frenkel, buried side by side, Tuesday, July 1, were a national event, drawing many tens of thousands of sorrowing sympathizers from every segment of the population. Their anguish over the senseless murders of the three boys, shortly after they were kidnapped on June 10 on their way home, was mixed with anger and demands for real retribution. The massed mourners will be expecting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who joined them, to make good on his vow to make Hamas pay.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz’s cryptic remark Monday, June 6 that “The Israeli Air Force will next month dramatically change its mode of operation,” meant that a decision has been taken to start directing the IAF’s fire power against 50,000 al Qaeda fighters, whom he calculates are forgathering in the Syrian and Iraqi arenas north of Israel. Gen. Gantz was referring not just to warplanes, but also Israel’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters. For this kind of warfare, he said, the air force requires a different kind of intelligence support.

The Israeli Air force struck 7 terrorist targets in southern Gaza Thursday, March 13, after a second round of rockets were fired at Ashkelon and Ashdod. The Jihad Islami reported a ceasefire was negotiated through Egypt. This was not confirmed by Israel. Earlier, Israel’s security cabinet met to determine how the IDF should handle Jihad Islami’s massive assault against Israel Wednesday, executed on orders from its boss, Al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as payback for Israel's seizure of an Iranian missile ship last week.

The Palestinian sniper who Tuesday, Dec. 24, shot dead an Israeli civilian from Gaza sent Israeli leaders into an agony of indecision over how to fight back against surging Palestinian terrorism without derailing US-sponsored Middle East peace talks. That afternoon, Israeli warplanes struck a Hamas base in Gaza, fairly mild punishment. Binyamin Netanyahu had hoped that by holding back, he could bring the talks to a successful conclusion. But he was wrong. The Palestinians ran off with the initiative of a new terrorist command center in Gaza and Istanbul.

Israel insists its air force attacks on Syria targeted Hizballah and its Iranian weapons shipments. This does not cover explain the targeting Sunday, May 5, of Mt. Qassioun, moving Assad to threaten a war of attrition. The US plans to follow the Israeli operation with arms supplies for Syrian rebels and US air strikes.

The Israeli air strike on a military site near Damascus announced by Syria Wednesday, Jan. 30, was strongly condemned by Moscow as “blatantly violating the UN Charter and unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it.“ debkafile: High military alerts declared across the region including Syrian Golan units, the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese and Israeli armies, US units in Turkey and Jordan and Russian warships off Syria. Western intelligence agencies predict more military action between Israel, Syria, Hizballah and possibly Iran.

Israel has passed a stern warning to the Palestinian Jihad Islami shooting missiles from Gaza for the third day to expect punishment on a different scale from the current surgical air strikes if they fire Fajr surface missiles against the Tel Aviv area, debkafile reports. The warning was relayed Sunday, March 11, through Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Murad Muwafi. He and Washington hope to curb the Gaza violence before Jihad is given escalation orders by its masters in Tehran and Damascus.

With its latest purchases from Washington, the Saudi Air Force will have more US fighter-bombers of more advanced models than the Israeli Air Force as well as a substantial influx of sophisticated Eurofighter Typhoons. Deep concern over this was recently relayed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Israel acted on the quiet in view of Gulf anxiety over Iranian threats.

The 10 US warships plus an Israeli and German battle vessel each, which transited the Suez Canal Friday, June 18, have reached the Persian Gulf. But first, from June 6 through June 10, the USS Harry S. Truman carrier Strike Group was deployed 50 miles off the shore of southwestern Israel on a secret joint war exercise, as first revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 449 on June 18.

The United States recently renewed supplies to the Israeli Air Force of GBU-28 Hard Target Penetrators and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, as well as Attack Munitions (LDJAM) for more accurate targeting of bombs, debkafile's military sources report. In Moscow, Israeli president Shimon Peres said to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev Sunday, May 9, that Syria has only one object in arming the Lebanese Hizballah with missiles and that is warmongering.